Olney On Upton, Greinke, Rays, Phillies

The Diamondbacks have let other clubs know that they are willing to consider offers for Justin Upton and Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) writes that teams are attaching red flags to the situation. Rival clubs wonder why Arizona would look to move a 24-year-old who is signed through 2015. and there is some concern about whether Upton has a chronic left shoulder problem. The D'Backs are looking for third base help, and there aren't a lot of options at the position. Meanwhile, we learned this morning that they have talked with the Pirates about a possible deal. More from today's column..

If the Brewers decide to deal Zack Greinke and the Orioles have a chance to land him, the question is whether Baltimore can generate an offer strong enough to top the draft pick that Milwaukee would get by hanging onto the pitcher instead. Baltimore won't part with Manny Machado or Dylan Bundy, leaving the Brewers to look beyond the club's two best prospects. Brian Matusz could be an interesting name in the talks if Milwaukee is a fan.

It remains to be seen whether the Rays will turn into sellers, but they have assets to dangle if they decide to go in that direction, including James Shields, B.J. Upton, and Matt Joyce. Upton is making $7MM this year and Joyce is headed to arbitration for the first time this winter.

The Phillies are already prepared to weigh any offers for Cole Hamels right now and the decision to sell continues to get easier as they fall in the standings. Headed into this afternoon's game against Atlanta, Philadelphia is 14 games behind the Nationals.

thing is i doubt anyone is willing to give up their best prospects for a possible two month rental. if he did a sign and trade deal, then it may be worth it. but if not, then to me its not worth risking your future.

That’s not the same either. That’s more like the Gonzalez deal where he was traded and then signed an extension with his new team. A sign and trade is his current team extending him before he’s traded.

I’m certainly no MLB insider so I guess I’m just speculating, but I don’t get the impression it’s some kind of hidden or chronic injury — I get the impression that ownership is angry at him (whether that is justified or not). It was only about a month ago that Derrick Hall bit into Drew and, to a lesser extent, Upton, and now trade rumors are popping back up. I’m not sure it is coincidence.

Is he getting a bad rap and entirely too much blame for the D-Backs lack of success this year? Yeah. I still think it’s more likely to be the reason. Besides which, if he DOES have a chronic shoulder issue it should turn up in his medicals at which point if it was a big issue they could pull out of the trade.

You’re right, it’s even worse: Instead of merely an upper management person, it was the managing partner, Ken Kendrick. The man who is rumored to have fired his last general manager for refusing his orders.

Glad you were snotty about it, I would have hated to accidentally make it seem like it came from a less important person than it actually did.

I’m not sure whi it is that anyone is surprised the Dbacks are shopping Drew,and it has nothing to do with Kendrick. The reality is, Drew is an expensive extra SS for the Dbacks. Bloomquist/McDonald have more than been adequate in Drew’s absence. Drew brings little to the table that they don’t, and he can only play one position (unlike Bloomquist).

Upton is not likely going anywhere. The Dbacks will be expecting a very big haul in returnand there simply are not enough buyers out there to make that happen. It’s not his shoulder, it’s his attitude. He came to Spring out of shape, and he’s reportedly not a very great guy in the clubhouse either.

If the Brewers want to hold out, they may end up with just a comp round and early 2nd round pick depending on where he signs.

They may be better off taking a Matusz + Schoop + Delmonico (or similar package) than gambling on getting comp picks. All 3 of those guys would be closer to major league ready than a draft pick (a college player may have the same timeline as Delmonico come next year).

Delmonico was a 1st round talent who fell because of signability, IIRC. Schoop would probably have been taken in the early rounds too if he’d been a domestic player. Considering that Delmonico has played very well and Schoop is holding his own as a 20 year old in AA, I think the value of that trade package is pretty comparable to the comp picks they’d get for Greinke. That said, we’re not trading with Milwaukee in a vacuum, and I think some other team (Atlanta?) can easily come up with a better deal that still wouldn’t be a huge overpay.

Brewers don’t need Schoop. They have Gennett coming up and still have Weeks blocking him. They need a SS and pitching. They want guys that are going to be ready next year. I don’t see Baltimore being a fit unless they get serious and give value for a #1 starter. Doug Melvin will keep him in hopes of signing him long term which is what he would prefer. If he can’t he will get 2 top picks for him.

Agree. Those prospects won’t help Baltimore this year. This year may be the only year the Orioles have a chance in the next 10 years. Look what a big prospect Matusz was and what they could have got for him. Now, he has little value and they are trying to get someone to bite on him. If you don’t believe in your team and city, then don’t trade for Greinke.

As a rational D-backs fan, I hope they keep Upton and let him figure his stuff out. It was Kendrick who called he and Drew out a while back, and that “brilliant motivational technique” has completely backfired. In my opinion, one of the big reasons they are entertaining offers, has to do with the way the fans feel towards him. I can’t explain it, but people here either love Upton, or absolutely despise the man, it makes me sick to hear a 24 year old all-star get booed at home, but I guess that’s what they do here.

I understand booing him for a lack of effort, but I can’t think of a situation in which he has just straight up loafed. The problem he has is actually the opposite, he presses too much, and then gets himself out trying to hit the vaunted “Five Run Home Run” every at bat. He isn’t even the highest player on his team this year.

This is going to sound masochistic, but I’m almost at the point where I’d like to see him get traded, because he deserves better. There are only three places in the world where he would be getting booed right now, Boston, New York, and Phoenix apparently.

Greinke isn’t going anywhere. The Brewers are in it for the long hall. They’ve had a lot of injuries, and with guys like Lucroy and Marcum returning soon, they could improve and potentially make a push. They’re only 8 games back, which seems like a lot, but does anyone remember last year’s Cardinals?

Is this Matt Kemp the Rangers will be trading for? The same Matt Kemp that was just extended by the Dodgers for 8 years and $160 million, essentially to be the face of the franchise? I have a hard time imagining that one getting done….